What to Eat and Drink in Mersin Turkey - Food in Mersin Türkiye

Central Mersin, unlike Tarsus, has a lot of food options to offer in January, 2024. Here are only a few super delicious food options that you can try in one day: 

1. Tantuni 

Red meat version is around 3-4 usd, served with red cabbage salad and roasted green peppers as free sides. You can get chicken instead of red meat. You can also choose if you want your tantuni inside bread or lavaş. We preferred lavaş as eating tantuni inside bread tends to get too messy - tantuni is VERY oily. Also: tantuni portions can be small, be ready to order another one if you are really hungry. The tantuni in the photo is eaten at Memoş Tantuni in Turgutreis, Silifke Cad. Çavuşoğlu Apt D:154/A, 33010 Akdeniz/Mersin.

2. Findik Lahmacun /Fındık Lahmacun

This is around 4-5 usd per portion (10 little lahmacuns served with a lot of delicious and free sides - with amazing humus! - as seen in the second photo.) "Fındık" means hazelnut in Turkish and these lahmacuns are a smaller version of the usual lahmacun you eat around the country. Perhaps they were named "fındık lahmacun" as they are small like hazelnuts? It has more meat compared to the bigger lahmacun type and its dough is thicker. It is delicious, you should definitely try it. The beauty below is eaten in Tunç Fındık Lahmacun in Güvenevler, Gül Apt. Sitesi, 1901. Sk. no:15/c, 33140 Yenişehir/Mersin.

3. Cezerye 

This delicious snack/dessert is round 10 usd per kilo for the ones with walnut, also called "cevizli yaprak cezerye". Getting more than you can eat to carry home with you is advised as it can stay fresh in the fridge for weeks. We got our half a kilo box from Dondurmacı Halil Usta in Kiremithane, Silifke Cad., 33010 Akdeniz/Mersin.

4. Kerebic / Kerebiç / Ma'amoul

 

This dessert is around 3 usd per portion with walnut filling. Most people buy this in kilos, and you can do so, too, but you should definitely try it before doing so as it can taste unusual for some. We loved both the walnut and pistachio filling ones. We tried this dessert in Kerebiçci Sabahat in Aydınlıkevler, Asya Apt., 2002. Sk. No.5 A, 33140 Yenişehir/Mersin. There is a little shop in every corner that sells kerebiç, if this is far for you, no need to worry. Dondurmacı Halil Usta sells them, too.

5. Kunefe / Künefe 

Around 3-4 usd per portion, ice cream is extra, very, VERY sugary. Share a portion if you have to.  

Also, this delicacy is originally from İskenderun, if İskenderun is on your list, you should definitely try it there. As we had no plans to visit İskenderun in the near future, we opted to eat it here in Mersin which is close to İskenderun, but they have the best künefe, trust me on that.

 

6. Hurmali Mamul / Hurmalı Mamul 

This amazing little snack is around 0.5 cents - for the bigger version. It goes creat with black coffee. If only it was sold in other cities of Turkey.